(New York) Oil prices chained a third consecutive session of increase Thursday, still supported by the dissipation of part of the fears associated with the Omicron variant, but also tensions on the supply.
A barrel of North Sea Brent for February delivery, the most traded in London, rose 2.07% to close at $ 76.85.
In New York, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for the same maturity, gained 1.41% and closed at 73.79 dollars.
The market will be closed on Friday, Christmas Eve.
Focused for a month on the demand and the possible consequences of the lightning diffusion of the Omicron variant, the operators have been reassured by scientific publications, in recent days, which indicate that this form of the virus is less virulent than its predecessors, Delta in particular. .
Attention has turned more to the offer this week, due to a series of news likely to cut black gold production.
According to figures reported by several media, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their allies of the OPEC + agreement produced in November significantly less crude than expected officially set levels.
According to Argus Media, production in OPEC + countries was more than 500,000 barrels per day lower than expected.
Added to this was the forcible closure on Monday of four Libyan oil fields by men affiliated with the Guards of Petroleum Installations (GIP), depriving the market of more than 300,000 barrels a day.
On Wednesday, it was the SPDC (Shell Petroleum Development Company), a subsidiary of the giant Shell, which announced the interruption of its oil deliveries from Nigeria, or about 200,000 barrels per day, following a logistical problem .
In the United States, a fire affected an ExxonMobil refinery in Baytown (Texas) on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, in particular facilities intended for the production of gasoline.
“The risks associated with the offer could offer substantial support to the market,” TD Securities analysts warned in a note.
Oanda analyst Edward Moya said the WTI “should settle around $ 70 to $ 75, until OPEC” sends out signals on what they plan to do at their next meeting. ”